matchmaker, matchmaker
by incense-whiskers
Summary: in the end, uncle iroh truly does know best/on second chances/ AU after ozai tries to take the throne/ zue, azulaang, lu toph edited and twice as shiny!


_disclaimer: i clearly don't own ATLA etc etc, and this is only an exercise in creativity_

_author's note: so. this is an edited re-haul of "matchmaker" because the first one was rather obnoxious and had terrible grammar and spelling errors (beta, what's a beta?). it's one language now - yay! what you'll find: zue, azulaang, lu toph. ursa still dies. snap shots of what happens to our heroes (primarily zuko and azula, lu ten is a lesser character) after the rebellion marshaled by ozai and zhao is squashed because i like happy endings. oh and a different formatting of chapters - i wanted one long piece instead of chapters, so the parts are split a la neil gaiman's anansi boys (the titles of his chapters are funny, to me at least). also - the grammar tends to fluctuate. it seems to make more sense this time around since the perspectives that i'm writing in change a lot. _

_summary: in the end, uncle iroh truly does know best/on second chances/ zue, azulaang, lu toph - AU after ozai tries to take the throne (edited and twice as shiny!)_

* * *

_1. our heroes are introduced and there is a funeral:_

Much later, after the shock had worn off and her hands had stopped trembling, she raged at the fact that she never saw it coming. Never noticed the signs, never even bothered to look because nobody would ever dare to strike her, the talented monster grand-daughter of Fire Lord Azulon. She truly was a monster, the pride of her house with her cunning and her joy in tormenting others. And yet, her she sat watching Iroh light the previous Fire Lord's pyre she feels scared and unprepared for the world she should have had disappears into this air. Within her she feels cold as she watches her uncle slowly transform into her King and she wonders how her world has disintegrated into the sounds of screaming and the taste of ash. Beside her, Zuko shifts to find a more comfortable position as he stares into the pyre. His arm is still bandaged and the dark circles are predominant on his face. To her left, cousin Lu Ten is watching his father's back and looking like stone. Reflecting on the lifetime that she has spent with this brother-cousin, she does not recall such anger before. Such brilliant forms when he lept to protect Zuko. Although she is bitter over not being first-born, Azula recognizes bravery.

Lu Ten is very brave.

Zuko is trying to stay still but his robes are so itchy… and they keep grabbing at his bandage and pulling against the healing skin underneath. He wishes for his plain clothes, wishes he was not here with thousands of eyes staring at him. Uncle respected him as a male heir and overruled Father's wishes with regard to studying with Master Piando but Zuko was nothing special in his eyes. He was not like his overly talented sister or the heir like his kind cousin_. _Iroh is sitting now and watching the fire burn. In front of them and his shoulders are slouched. Zuko wonders if he was close to the now-passed descendant of Agni. The monks are chanting and the incense is cloying and sticky to his nose in vain attempt to cover the scent of charring flesh and bone. The son of the disgraced son notices that his father is not prayed over by the red-robed religious men, and notes that only a servant lights Ozai's pyre. Zuko knows the difference between kind and cruel.

Ozai was very cruel.

After the funeral, after the mulititude of_(fake) _people with their lie-glazed eyes and their weak limpid smiles, Azula fled to her family's quarters. Ignoring traditions she drank a bottle of sunberry wine and tore down _(father-liar) _Ozai's portrait and all of his robes that smell of him and his demons and she burns bright and hard until the guards come and haul her out of the devil's room and lock her up in her own room with an anaesthetic and she can't feel anything at all. Azula has been poisoned, lied to and_(pretty much nearly) _murdered and she can't feel if she's alive. She lays in an undignified heap on the floor in her mourning robes of white and pale, weak gold and contemplates forcing her metal hairpiece through her throat before the wine and the tranquilizer overcome her. In the morning, she forces herself to rise with the sun and she searches through her quarters for anything that her father may have given her and then has it dragged out and destroyed. She watches the sparks from her window and wonders if she will ever touch the stars that _he _had promised her.

After the funeral, Zuko excuses himself to go and look after the women in his family. He is now the head of his family, a sage had whispered, he had responsibilities. Dimly he wondered what responsibilities that a (swiftly approaching) coming of age male might have when he had no other future besides being in Court sitting quietly and never voicing his true thoughts or in a battle somewhere commanding a small battalion. Zuko was never groomed to be an heir, but a leader. A politician or military strategist is something that Azula would thrive in – heavy competitions to stay on top, to claim victories and conquer lands and trading rights. But as he peers through her doorway and sees her sad, sad form on the floor he wonders if it is where she would be happy. The thought of a happy Azula disturbs him greatly and he remembers that he can never remember hearing her giggle.

Rubbing his injured arm Zuko moves from Azula's door to the rooms of his mother and nods to an assistant healer who leaves the spacious chamber. Inside he sees his uncle, no, his King at her side, holding her limp hand and bowing his head in sorrow. As he sits beside her, Iroh looks up at his injured nephew and Zuko can see the shame in his eyes. Shame that he couldn't promise happiness to everyone.

_2. in which Azula takes over the duties of the Crown Princess and Zuko gets a surprise (and a new bandage)_

Azula can, when the notion strikes her, be very patient. She remembers the sound that her mother made when she fell to the ground, the slowing creeping pallor to her skin when Azula found the tea to be not to her liking –mother had known and had not said anything. The princess wanted to know why, why be so silent? She wondered if she was as delicate as she looked, that all she was as a person – was she really just air in a pretty glass bottle? Father had certainly thought so. The morning after the funeral, she had ordered all of her uniforms scorched. They were what she was expected to wear, what she wore to gain his approval. Traitors deserve nothing, she swore vehemently to herself, traitors do not deserve Agni's warm embrace.

She almost looked like her mother. But she was still a monster, still _h__is_, and the severe pinning of her hair proved it. Turning around she forsook her mirror and left her chambers with a snap to her servants and a scowl to her poor, pathetic brother who was wearing a smaller bandage on his arm. Court was a place where women ruled, where the women like her mother (poor Princess Ursa, really, she jumped from a small pond to the ocean and just couldn't keep up) or people of lesser titles or distant attachments to greater powers dwelled. Since the death of the current Fire Lord's honoured wife managing the Court belonged to her mother. Now it fell to her to smile disarmingly and hand out soft lies to prevent the truth from spilling. It was a slap to the face really, she had been on the Council before and had talked about military strategies, trade routes and politics – but now, she had been shifted to this position of lesser status and it burned far greater than her fire. But she nods her head and pretends to interested when the women simper and whisper to her because the only other option is Zuzu and the last time he was left alone with the delicate task of observing the lords and ladies, he'd almost destroyed the trading rights with the Southern Islands.

And Azula's good at lying after all...

* * *

Zuko is training with his uninjured arm when Iroh finds him. It is what Iroh finds endearing about him – no matter how cruelly his father may have mistreated him, Zuko endured it. Not by much when he considers Zuko's faltering enthusiasm about bending, but he has survived. This is a trait unnoticed and under appreciated by most of the Fire Nation where having your dignity is more important. This kind of talk is not good for Zuko. As much as Iroh loves the boy (for indeed, his sister-in-law's children are practically his own) and wants him here in the courts to teach him the things that Ozai refused, he knows better. Zuko deserves more, much more, then what this angry nation would begrudgingly give him. He slides the scroll into his sleeve and approaches his nephew with a friendly wave. Perhaps he would broach this subject after a friendly spar and a cup of tea.

They are sitting on Iroh's favored pavilion. From here, he can watch the comings and goings and look at the gardens. It is pretty and tranquil. Zuko is unused to coming here and is startled by the warm smile the Fire Lord (his grandfather and his father never smiled) graces his servant. Apparently it is normal and the smile is returned. Zuko waits, by tradition for his honored Fire Lord to pour the tea, to serve and to drink first. When he lifts the cup to his own lips, Iroh has begun staring over his left shoulder and seemingly into the walls of the palace. The prince frowns – is this the senility that his father had sneered about?

"I would ask you a favor" he sighs, pursing his lips.

"Anything," Zuko replies immediately. "Anything for you, honored Fire Lord." He sets down his cup and waits expectantly for the Fire Lord to continue. He means it too – he's always viewed Iroh as his father and Lu Ten as the sibling he'd always wanted since his own family was so dysfunctional and dangerous. Zuko's always felt that he's owed his Uncle and has always been willing to do as he asks. Iroh pulls out a scroll from his sleeve and sets it on the table. Zuko catches the emblem stamped on it and is confused – Water Tribe?

"I also ask for your forgiveness. I should have dealt with this sooner Zuko. I never should have let Ozai go so far," Iroh is burdened by this failure, the pain coarsens his voice. "However it has happened and now I must repent for my hesitance. But now is the time for repairs and this family is shattered." Iroh looks at Zuko and pins him with deep eyes of dark amber.

"You are suffocating Zuko. By the grace of Agni you have persevered, but only by a little. By the will of my own father you have found your place in this family with your talent with broadswords but you have only grudgingly mastered firebending – for which I do not blame you," he holds up a hand to stop Zuko from speaking. "Azula is not kind to any of us, most of which was not her fault. Now that I am Fire Lord and Lu Ten is my heir apparent there is very little for either of you to do here. I wish to save you, to bring the smiles back that you have lost. I would have you be happy and your little sister less troubled. The world is as happy as we make it and it is not as peaceful as I would like. Therefore, dearest nephew, I would ask that you marry Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe."

Zuko looks at his uncle with shock. Then picks up his tea cup, lifts it to his lips and then places it quietly on the table. This is not what he expected. His future was to be in the courts or the various battlefields while a wife waited at home with a secret lover, bitter servants and a number of unwanted and neglected children. To be asked to marry a princess was beyond frightening – he was a lesser prince, this was an honour for Lu Ten surely.

"No," Iroh replies when Zuko voices his concern. "Lu Ten is being currently matched with another girl. I was lucky to find her when I did, I think she will be good for him and for our nation. Her family is another matter entirely – stubborn and foolish, but they will be a good resource to lean on if the time comes. No, I would not pair you with a noblewoman, that would most certainly kill you. But I cannot leave you here with Azula. Already she proves herself to be dangerous to herself and everyone around her."

"What will you do with her?" Zuko asks. Iroh raises an eyebrow.

"Dearest nephew, your sister will be looked after. She does not back down easily from a challenge. That trait in itself may save her. You however are not of her temperament and I am not young. I must look after Lu Ten now, and your mother. You deserve more Zuko. That is why I am arranging this marriage with the Northern Water Tribe. The Water Tribe are known for their deep-rooted sense of community and their adaptability. It is why I volunteered you to Chief Arnook."

"But what if she doesn't like me?" the prince whispered, staring down at his tea cup.

"My dear boy," Iroh said gently, pouring himself more tea. "You are a resilient young man with compassion even if you do expect too much of yourself. In this world, the only happy endings we get are the ones we make."

"What is she like? This princess."

"I am told that she is a gentle soul," the Fire Lord assures him. "I have not had the pleasure of meeting her on my travels to the North Pole, but the people are friendly. Arnook has also promised to bring a healer with him, Zuko, when then come here for the wedding. Already their boats have been sailing for a fortnight."

A healer? All the way from the North Pole? Even in the depths of the Earth Kingdom people knew of the powers that those talented healers possessed. Select waterbenders who could heal injuries that the most skilled of physicians could not. And yet this Chief would bring one to heal his mother, who may already be dead and beyond their skills to revive. Zuko loses his words for a moment and sinks to the ground in a bow.

"I would be honored to fulfil this favor." he manages to say around his dry mouth.

_3. a game of pai sho is played and ursa's drinking habits are revealed_

The maids dressed her in robes of gold. It was a pretty effect really, highlighting the deep chocolate of her hair and the brightness of her eyes. The green embroidery commented the ivory of her skin and the pleasant smile retained the sharp words that she wished to speak. Her hair was still pulled back into its severe style, and her attitude was still brisk if not distinctly brittle. The walk to the observatory was long and filled with bustle. The impending marriage of royalty was big, even if it wasn't the Crown Prince (still, Azula had heard the rumors of a foreclosing betrothal between Lu Ten and some dithering Earth Kingdom socialite and it made her skin itch). The very palace itself was a gleaming thing with subtle attempts with blue. Nodding imperiously to the guards outside the large room she swept in and found the observatory to be empty. Except for her King and his ridiculous pai sho board. He was sitting there as if he hadn't anything else in the world to do and smiled as she bowed with all the grace her tutors had taught her. After she arranged herself in such a way that moving would not cause her outfit to make her clumsy she smiled charmingly at him. He smiled brightly back and then motioned to the board.

"Honored guests have the first move." He stated. She frowned at him and then turned her attention to the board. She hated pai sho, finding actual people and geographical locations much more interesting to practice with. There was more to contemplate and to consider.

"You are well Azula?" Her Fire Lord asks, making a move with the red fire lily. She does not grace him with an answer and moves her green jade eye with a jerky defiance. He sighs and moves his tall mountain piece as he ponders out loud. "I should have saved you long ago. If your recent attitudes of late are to be trusted then perhaps there is some saving you, do you agree?"

"I do not need to be saved," she replies coldly, moving her green jade eye again and capturing his tall mountain. "I am a Master and a talented strategist. On my own I wield the courts without assistance. I do not need to be saved."

"I will have to disagree with you. Do you know that I can remember when you used to laugh? It was so infectious. Now you are known for your cruelty and your perhaps misjudged adoration for my brother Ozai and his dishonored Lieutenant Zhao. You are unhappy here. I know how you stalk the halls when sleep does not claim you, how you keep no close companions. This country suffocates Zuko and has tried to poison you."

"Don't be ridiculous, uncle, why would anyone try to assassinate me?" she retorts bitterly. Her reputation precedes her afterall. He raises an eyebrow.

"You said it yourself. You are strong, cunning and ruthless if you must. You were a threat to Ozai and the rule he wanted so much – it was why he was poisoning your tea that you drank with your mother each morning. Did you not notice? Surely someone with your attention to detail noticed. It was not a tea that she favored; she drank it to spend time with you." Azula stiffened.

"Then why not report anything to the Fire Lord? Why sit there and do nothing?" she sneers at him, angry with her mother, her brother and her meddling frustrating uncle – not to mention the rest of the world.

"Yu-Yan archers," Iroh responds quietly, and Azula feels a sliver of cold race down her spine. "If she were to say anything both you and Zuko would have been assassinated and your mother, despite what you think of her, you mother would have never allowed such a thing to come to pass. Until something broke she chose to stay silent and drink that tea to keep you safe."

Azula thinks of her mother's pale, pale face hitting the ground and her mouth flattens into a severe line. Her mother may already be dead, clinging to life because of some happenstance because she chose to love the wrong person. Azula remembers the taste of sunberry wine and anesthetic and like then, begins to lose all physical sensation.

"What have you decided honored Fire Lord?" she asks. Iroh picks up the white lotus and plays with it.

"You need peace. A place to learn what Ozai has denied you. A dare of sorts," he tells her with a glint to his eyes. "You enjoy planning military strategies and talking the nobles in circles, but I fear that you are running out of intellectual stimulation here in the palace. I also have it on good authority that the world has been lacking in alliances these past generations – something I will remedy and tame two sabertoothmooselions with one rope..."

"Because love fixes everything?" she bites out. Iroh smiles.

"No. It is through love that we respect and through respect we learn. You will marry a Nomad masterby the end of the summer. I'm sure the two of you will have plenty to learn from each other," Iroh lays down his tile and captures her green jade eye. She scowls at her loss and refuses to meet his eye when he whispers "If she truly did not love you, then why would she drink the tea?"

_4.__ we meet yue and learn that maybe azula does have a soul afterall_

Zuko had never ventured beyond the borders of the Fire Nation before, and judging by the look of consistent awe on Princess Yue's face, she had never ventured beyond the borders of her watery land. She was a pretty thing, pleasing to the male eye. Oddly enough her hair was not dark like her kin, but white as the full moon and unlike the noblewomen of the courts this strange wife-to-be was kind to everyone she met. Impossibly charming, these Water Tribe people. With a smile and an offer to help anyone they met they became instant favorites of the guards and the servants. The socialites snickered behind their fans when Azula held luncheons outside but nobody directly said anything – Azula's disdain for him may be well known, but she was the only one who had the power to mock him to his face.

The moment that the company from the Northern Tribe had landed on his nation's soil, a healer had departed from the ship without a backwards look and was hustled into his mother's chambers. Zuko had not seen the woman since and Azula had not been pleased that some Northern savage was touching her mother. Walking into his mother's garden he nods to a small gathering of blue and red garbed guards (for nobody dared let the prince and princess out of their sight) and sits beside Princess Yue as she feeds the turtleducks.

"I apologize on behalf of my sister," he says awkwardly, not exactly sure what he should be saying to this graceful girl in front of him. The hands still in her lap and she turns to look at him.

"I have heard that she is like a polarwolf after the long storm season. We do not take offence to it; after all, not storm lasts forever." Yue smiles at him kindly before returning her attentions to the indignantly squawking turtleducks. Zuko stares at the blue robed princess and thinks that this is first time that an outsider has said something so sincerely nice about his sister. He resolves to not tell Azula that for it would do little but anger her further. After her own impending marriage was announced her moods had irrevocably soured and the only servants who would tend to her know were the ones that had mastered firebending. He resolved to stay away from her and watch moon-girl closely when she traveled near Azula's path.

* * *

Azula, like the rest of her nation, rose with the sun. It was something ingrained into her from birth. She doubted that if she had been born without her bending that she would sleep past sunrise. However, since the beginning of the first temple when women brought forth the first life-flame they preformed devotions to the spirits who watched over them. Father had sworn that it was nothing but lies, there were no spirits and those who believed in them were weak, insipid fools and she had claimed to believe it too. But mother had taken her aside the dawn of her first blood cycle and instructed her on the proper devotions against Father's instructions.

"We give thanks to the spirits for enabling us to continue the life-flame," she had explained. "And we accept the cycle that our own lives bring." Azula had understood, rising with the sun in youth, holding steady in maturity and falling into old age as the sun had set. The devotions were symbolic. But she hadn't preformed them in a very long time. Her mother had said nothing when she stopped showing up, only rising for their morning tea, and Azula never spoke to her the words Ozai and Zhao had told her.

It was a slap to the face when the movements were jerky and slow, somewhat strenuous and awkward. For she had always been so graceful in combat and dance, and yet here at the very core of her womanhood she was so clumsy – she was grateful that no one was present to see this shame. But the tea looked so unusual as it sat on a low table all by itself. In the gardens below her window she saw the strange haired Princess from the North sitting at the tutleduck pond and she ground her teeth. Upturning the tea she left her rooms and went looking for her mother.

Inside her mother's chamber, a blue robed healer with worn hands and deep river eyes was straightening up Ursa's various lacquered and filigree birds, a collection she had kept up from childhood, and patted down what looked to be fresh sheets. The monster-princess noted the large containers of water stationed by the bedside and kept her lips from curling into a snarl. As soon as she stepped into the room the healer looked up with a small smile.

"Did you fix her?" Azula replied, hands sparking. The healer cast an eye over her charge and shrugged her shoulders.

"We shall see. You should stay and visit, it might help." The healer left with the old sheets and a tray of empty plates. Azula growled and sat paced around the room. Mother's room were always bright with candles and sunlight and smelled like amberlilies but it had never been so still. The bruise was no longer a shadow on her face and her shoulder looked less jolted than it had before, she thought as she traced a finger down along her mother's hairline. She was so loud when Zhao crept out with his fire and then so silent when her head cracked against the floor. Spying a jar of Ursa's favored hand balm, she sat down and spread a little over the limp, lifeless fingers as she tried to delicately work it in.

"I performed the proper devotions today mother, just like you showed me. Do you think it changed anything? Did the spirits take notice?"

_5. where we celebrate zuko's marriage_

The wedding had been a red and blue blur. In all honesty Zuko had felt rather embarrassed to be up there in his finery when surely this should be for the Crown Prince, not for a lesser son of a shamed blood traitor. Yet there his King and his heir stood, beaming at him for entering a new stage in his life while he stood in front of the collective red robed and sandalwood smelling sages, his Sifu, his madsister and the small gathering of the Northern Water Tribe: the Northern Chief, several masters, advisors and bending and the healer, Yugoda. He had spoken his vows, perhaps less impressively then if it had been Azula and tried to smile encouragingly as Princess Yue struggled with the exceptionally formal and archaically worded oaths. The reserved firewine, brewed and bottled by the holy men was only broken out for royal weddings and funerals and tasted like sweet-bitters while scouring his insides. The world took on a more friendly appeal afterwards.

There were similarities in how the two cultures celebrated. Food aplenty and enough dancing to remove the soles of one's feet. While his wife was naturally graceful (she still lacked his sister's predatory movements) his own feet were slow to learn to steps that the Water Tribe men favored so. However with full bellies and cheer they slapped him on the back and encouraged him to try again until he got it mostly right. Behind him he knew that Lu Ten and his uncle would also be up and trying the new steps, Azula would be sipping her sunberry wine with narrowed eyes. She refused to dance and after one particularly nasty snap, left the festivities all together. The Fire Lord frowned but began leading the more traditional Fire Nation dances by bowing to a Earth Kingdom noblewoman. Yue's face was flushed and kept her eyes low when in contact with the nobles of the Fire courts and although it was tradition to dance until the moon rose, Zuko felt that he should escort her out earlier.

"A little eager my boy?" Iroh had asked with a chuckle, sipping from his glass. Zuko blushed to the tips of his ears and sputtered nonsense. "Well I don't think you'll find a man here who'd blame you."

"She seems overwhelmed Uncle." He managed to plead. The Fire Lord's mirthful eyes softened.

"What a fine husband you are," the older man said kindly. "Go take your wife with you to your quarters. I will keep the guests entertained."

"Thank you Uncle." Iroh smiled contentedly as he watched his nephew take his blushing bride aside to escape the noise and the stares. A good match indeed, he thought as a servant refilled Chief Arnook's glass.

* * *

From her position in the corridor she could see the gleam of her new sister-in-law's strange hair and Zuzu's solid loping footsteps. He opened the door for her before entering himself and she sneered at his civility. Tugging at her robes, robes that her mother wore to the wedding of another great king, she set off to her mother's chamber to see if she slept now, instead of the strange stillness that was slowly rotting her away. Everyday the savage came in and made her still, ghost of a mother glow until she could barely even stand. Yet Princess Ursa was not improving.

Sitting beside the bedside, she opened the jar of hand balm and began to rub it into her mother's pale, dry hands. She then spoke of the wedding, of how strong Zuko looked in his formal robes, how well her new sister spoke her vows, how lively the music was and who attended. Things her mother would have noticed, things she would have enjoyed. She spoke of wearing her robes, of insisting that her attendants place amberlilies in her hair because she would have worn them like a crown amongst the jewelled pins, a sparkling garden in her dark hair. And yet throughout it all, Ursa lay still and barely breathing. Azula took a damp cloth and wiped her face and whispered of her own impending marriage. How different it was from the young men that Ursa had looked over, how mad Uncle was to suggest such a union. She spoke of her coming stay in the Western Air Temple, to wait for him as he was busy teaching at his own temple. They spoke well of him, the Elder Nomads and the Fire Lord, praising him for his spirit and his prowess. The Fire Princess made no sound. Leaving the cloth by the bedside, she removed the flowers from her hair and set them in her own mother's fading locks and left the room for the gardens.

The movements are as natural to her as breathing now, they flow through her body like blood through her veins. It likens her to her uncle, for he is as talented as she is. She does not understand why he was always so kind to her, why he was always so proud of her when she accomplished a level (or three as the case usually was). She was not a kind child and she is not a kind woman. She does not understand why he avoids her now when he has never done so before and has secret meetings with her brother. Scowling she burns brighter then people like until the blue seeps through her skin and taints her very soul. Closing her fists she breathes and smells smoke and her mother's beloved flowers. Since the attacks the gardeners have tended to the plants and it makes Azula's skin crawl. The flowers do not seem as bright under these fools and she has thrown them all out on at least one occasion for not making the flowers "happy enough". The servants and guards watch her now and do not turn their backs to her. Azula stares at the many walls surrounding the flowers and cannot seem to blame them.

In the morning, an attendant found her sweaty, bruised in a charred remnant of what was once a royal dress.

"The Fire Lord wishes to see you." She announced demurely. Azula rose haughtily and snapped her fingers.

"I will need to have my feet scrubbed. One cannot meet the Fire Lord with dirty feet." The servant bowed. "And fetch me the white robes with the embroidered firelilies, and gold ovals for my ears."

"Yes, Princess Azula."

_6. in which the two princesses spend some time with each other and we meet the Air Monks_

"I have a meeting with my sister and the Fire Lord, so I may be late for the evening meal," Zuko explained as he wrapped his outer robe around himself. Yue nodded and looked for his favored top knot piece. "Agni, I hope this isn't another pai sho game."

"Pai sho?" Yuerolled the strange words over her tongue and tilted her head to one side. Zuko grimaced.

"It's a game we play, prevalent here and in the Earth Kingdom. It's not quite as popular with the Water Tribes or with the Nomads, they play some strange game with small glass balls and a piece of bouncing rubber. Uncle is a skilled player. Azula and I also play but she finds it boring." He explained, grabbing his seal ring, just in case.

"Would you teach me how to play?" his wife asked. Zuko looked at her dubiously.

"I am not as skilled as Azula or Iroh," he replied. Her cheeks flushed prettily. "You would be better off seeking instruction from Uncle Iroh."

"I just wanted to learn something you enjoyed. To get to know you better." She whispered, twisting her hands in her skirts. Something very small in Zuko expanded and his heart felt too big within his chest.

"I will find a board after this meeting and try to teach you. Then you can teach me something that you like to do." He said with a smile, hurriedly kissed her cheek and then dashed out of the room leaving the new wife standing in space with a dazed smile and a hand to her cheek.

In the audience hall, the Fire Lord sat upon his dais with Lu Ten and Azula off to the right hand side. On the left there stood a collection of Nomads and in the centre of the room there was a group of healers – a respected herbalist of the Earth Kingdom, the best physicians that the Fire Nation had to offer and Master Yugoda of the Northern Tribe. Lu Ten looked calm, but was eyeing a particularly wealthy Earth Kingdom nobleman at the end of the receiving line. Azula's gaze flitted from person to person with a calculating glare.

"Do you think he is here?" he whispered as he knelt down beside her. She stiffened and then glared at him.

"Shut up Zuzu." She hissed. Lu Ten turned his head slightly and the siblings both silenced themselves.

"Fire Lord," a Fire Nation healer knelt and then rose again. "We have collaborated to the best of our abilities. It seems that none of us have to power or the skill to awaken Princess Ursa. The blow to her head has caused damage that none of us can see or fix."

"She is already physically malnourished and weak. By our arts alone does she breathe but little else." The herbalist spoke next, avoiding gazing at his patients children. The Fire Lord was quiet for a moment.

"Why have you not spoken Master Yugoda? What are your thoughts?" He asked. The older Tribeswoman stepped forward and spoke clearly.

"Not all things are fixable Fire Lord." Zuko paled and the monster-daughter hissed. Zuko's heart dropped down into his chest and his sister was just barely keeping herself in check but few could miss the bright blue sparks that lit up in the traditional flaming veil around the dais. The Fire Lord made no movement but the guards stiffened and glared in her direction.

"We will think upon these matters," The Fire Lord said finally. The healers bowed low and departed. "Now if the collective Nomad Elders would come forth?" A collection of strange saffron and cherry robed men and women approached the dais. All of them looked old and, to Zuko's surprise, were covered from head to toe in a blue arrow tattoo. Peering closely – aha, that must be the Nomadmaster from the Southern Temple. He was young, tattooed and serene looking.

"We are honored to have the Nomad scholars among us this day. The Spirits bless us." Iroh announced to the court. "May I present our Princess, Master Azula?" To this, she rose and moved beside the Fire Lord and Zuko supposed that she struggled to maintain a pleasant facade.

"I am Brother Gyatso, and I humbly present to my pupil Brother Aang, our only master to have achieved this status by fourteen years of age." The thin young man had an honest face. He bowed and then moved to stand beside his mentor.

"Now that the introductions have been seen to, perhaps we should finish negotiations?" The Fire Lord suggested. "Then we can see to arranging the ceremony." An older nun, with laugh lines around her eyes and mouth stepped forward.

"We at the Western Temple are willing to host our newest honoured guest," her voice was low and soft. "While Brother Aang completes his last year of oathbound studies in the Southern Temple. We are also representing the Eastern Temple's interest in re-opening training for those seeking the sacred paths of the Guru." Several fire sages moved forward in interest.

"The Fire Nation, on its part," the Fire Lord continued. "Is willing to reopen trade routes, support pilgrimages to the temples and provide the Western Temple with a dowry for hosting our beloved Princess with a yearly allowance of whatever it is the temple is needing to provide for it's children."

"Then we have an accord."

* * *

They had decided two things that eve. That the wedding would be sealed with traditional Nomad oaths (since Nomads rarely ever married and this was such a unique occasion) and the ceremony would be traditionally Fire Nation. Traditional wedding fare with the occasional vegetarian dish, wine and music. The other decision was to let Princess Ursa pass on into the afterlife, into Agni's warm embrace. Azula was pleased and angered at the outcomes. Angered that the so called miraculous savages couldn't fix her mother and that because of the traditional mourning period of three weeks she would not have to be present for very long at the reception or have to consummate marriage with her soon to be wedded husband. Of course, some felt, like her stupid brother, that the Fire Princess would magically awaken. Azula knew better. Mother had perished the moment that Zhao struck her. Why she had lasted for so very long, she was not sure.

She was currently lounging in a pool of warm water, amusing herself by sending sparks across the water. Utter mental clarity, acute concentration; to see the thin line between was was fire and what was water - was built into her by _t__hem _and it was the only gift that she kept. The servants rustled behind her quietly, arranging hair oils and pins, loofas to scrub and lotions to soften. Azula had her favored file in hand.

"Princess Yue," a servant whispered. "Welcome." Not bothering to turn around, the Fire Princess sent another spark across the water. Behind her, the other princess rustled out of her own robes, a Tribal twist on silk sunk to the floor and the servants removed all the pins to her hair and marvelled at the softness of it.

"May I join you?" she said softly.

"It seems that you already had plans for it." Azula replied snottily.

"Not true. There are other things I could have done to pass the time while you bathed," said Yue gently, as one might speak to a startled ostrichhorse_. "_However I was asked to come and bathe with you."

"Asked?" the predator snarled.

"You do not express the desire for company sister. Zuko asked if I would help you prepare for your wedding. It is tradition among your Nation and you seem to lack females to assist you." She explained stepping into the bathing pool without fear of the electric charge. Her strange moon-hair floated like ice upon the water and her large, knowing eyes gazed up at Azula before ducking completely beneath the surface. Halting her filing she stared into the water in contemplation. She did not truly need help – she had servants for that after all, but the tradition was held when Lu Ten and Uncle Iroh helped Zuko prepare. It should have been mother here softly soothing her snarky attitude and dressing her hair and yet, she was fading into nothing in her dark rooms. Refocusing her attentions to her nails, she waited for the Tribeswoman to resurface.

"It would be helpful." She stated simply and the other girl nodded.

The Nothern woman's hands were strong and kneaded softly into her hair, smoothed out the tangles and wrung off the last vestiges of water. Azula couldn't help but notice the well rounded breasts and full hips of her sister and feel intimidated by it. Her own form was too thin, bulked only by the amount of layers her robes and armor that she wore. Since her blood cycles had begun her breasts had only marginally increased and while she had finished her growth spurt seasons ago, her waist was still boyish. Not quite woman enough.

"My mother said that the choices a woman makes defines who she is. Not by the children that she bears or the wolves she raises to hunt with or the warm hearth that she keeps when the nights are cold." Yue said quietly as she watched a maid carefully firebend Azula's tresses dry.

"My mother told me to honor the Fire Nation in all that I do." Azula replied.

"There is often a small truth in all words of advice," the girl answered. Reaching for a wide toothed comb she dipped it in oil and drew it through the bride-to-be's hair. "What is important is coming to terms with the truth inside yourself." Azula huffed to herself and watched how carefully Yuewas taking care of her, with the kind of tranquillity she'd only seen in a sage. It was... nice.

Later, she stood on the dais in her crimson robes heavily embroidered with star flowers and phoenixes. The head piece that Yue had secured into place was not as heavy as either of them thought and the veil was brushing against the back of her neck. The sandalwood was heavy against her nose and the strange words of the Nomads were high and flutey to her. In comparison to Aang'ssmooth speed she spoke surely, slowly so that she would not misspeak and make a fool of herself. She watched amused as he choked on the firewine and allowed herself to be led down to a lower dais where she was fed the choicest of food and drink and firmly ignored her new husband.

Out of the corner of her eye a servant spoke to a sage who hustled out of the hall and she frowned. The King left shortly thereafter and a cold pit of knowing settled in her stomach.

"Princess_?_" Aang asked in concern. He still tripped over the vowels of her title. "Is something wrong?"

"My mother is dead."

_7. a dare is offered_

"You can bend can't you?" he asked, setting himself down on the ground. The girl nodded slightly, anger rooting through her spine like another girl he knew too well. "Show me." With a small huff of irritation, she stood up and stared over his left shoulder. A subtle movement from her foot and he was sent flying through the air. As soon as he handed, he was jerked back to her feet. A small smile hovered on her lips. Power lust, he thought with awe as he looked a the small girl and her smirking face, must run in his family. It seems that he had more in common with Azula that he'd thought.

"I will prevent them from binding your feet and provide you with a body guard to slay what which you cannot see." He offered. She frowned.

"What do you want in return?" she'd asked. Bei Fongs were business after all.

"I want us to learn how to respect each other. And," here he stopped to root through his pockets. "While you are waiting for us to marry I want you to learn how to bend this. A challenge of sorts."

She scowled as she felt it with nimble, sensitive fingers.

"This is metal!"

"So?" he replied with a smirk as he watched her ears flush in irritation. "I think that you will - maybe not now, you're too soft and pretty -" ducking her growl and swift right hook he continued, "I think you can and you will move mountains one day." His smirk widens as she wandered away from him muttering to herself about jing and being neutral and properties of ores...

"I'll see you at dinner in an hour? Your parents are taking us to the theatre!" he calls and she waves absently.

_8. a sailing trip and the western air temple_

The North Pole was _cold_. Zuko had desperately wanted to turn the boat around and sail back for the sun filled shores of his homeland and never, ever leave. The waters that were once bright and clear were now smooth and dark and covered with bright layers of frost. He had long since lost and feeling in his nose and the tips of his ears and he spent hours in his cabin practising his breathing to keep from freezing to death. Yuehad covered his side of the bed with extra furs and told him that his body would soon adjust to the drop in temperature. In the mean time she had been weaving him thicker tunics and bringing him hot tea several times a day.

Currently, Zuko was trying to ignore the crick in his neck as Chief Arnook patiently instructed him on finding his way through the water with the stars and a map as a guide. He had only begun to understand the techniques necessary for maneuvering the craft with the rudder and was beginning to learn the combat techniques that the Water Tribe warriors had passed down from the first fighters of their tribe. The movements were somewhat similar to the katas he had learned as a child but were more enjoyable than he could remember. With these men smiling at him and slapping him on the back he understood that these skills were not meant to determine what kind of person he was, only to learn them to protect the people and to learn from his fellow warriors. Such a different attitude from his own lessons from his childhood. He'd also had several of the Tribesmen eager for sword lessons from him after watching him shadowspar with his broadswords.

At the end of every day, his wife would help him out of his bulky furs and serve him dinner that she had carefully added spice to ("Our food is quite bland," she had told him) and listened to how his day went. After dinner they would play Pai Sho and drink tea before her father would stop by and wish them a good night. She would gently prod him into practising his firebending.

"It has been a long time since we have had a firebender stay throughout the winter season. You should be prepared for months with no sun."

"I will survive without it; it is a small loss to me." He replied, moving a tile. The moonprincess frowned at him but let the topic drop for another time.

As they prepared for bed, he slipped his boots off and sighed, wiggling his toes against the floor in pleasure. Yue slipped out of her outer robes and undid the coils of her hair until there was just a simple plait down her back. Zuko had already slid into bed, warming it for her before she even had a nightshift on. As she joined him beneath the furs he carefully tucked himself around her and avoided pulling on her hair. By morning he would steal all of the covers but it rarely bothered her – Zuko was enough to keep her warm.

* * *

The thing was squirming in Ty Lee arms. It was small and oddly limbed with brown splotches on its fur with wide green eyes. The Nomad nun was beaming, as usual, and bouncing along instead of gliding like the other women here. Chirping a cheerful good morning she deposited the thing into Azula's arms and then flipped into a headstand, waves of hair falling over her face. Giving a soft sigh of air that merely flipped the hair up and back onto her face she rolled into a sitting position. Azula was trying hard to keep the …_t__hing _from climbing all over her and had her eyes narrowed at the agile nun.

"What is this?" the fireprincess demanded.

"It's one of the-" the guru-in-training began to reply before being cut off.

"Why am I holding it?"

"Because I was instructe-"

"Why is it licking me?"

"That's what babies do?"

"Take it back!"

Ty Lee slipped a few feet away and held her hands up peacefully. A sympathetic look covered her face and Azula knew that this was a plot by that toothless wise-woman. Azula knew that she should have burnt her to a crisp upon introductions, a peaceful people and alliance or no.

"The Abbess said you needed to learn compassion." Ty Lee said helpfully.

"So she gives me a flying rat?" Azula hissed. Ty Lee giggled.

"You are so silly Princess Azula. It's a flying lemur, the last of the spring litters. Normally we would not have intervened with the course of life but the Abbess thinks he'll be good for you. You are now responsible for his well being." She explained.

"Do I still have to babysit the brats?" Azula asked.

"Yep. And assist in the infirmary."

"I hate you all." The nun giggled and disappeared with a clever flip. Azula sighed, grabbed the thing by it's neck and starting walking towards one of the many balconies littering the temple. If she was tardy then the nun in charge of the little nuns-to-be had threatened dish duty. It was horrid enough that she was stuck her while waiting for her supposed husband, let alone try to scrape of egg custard residue.

_9. in which declarations are made and zuko finds the dog house_

Princess Yue was a quiet soul. She spent her hours looking after her quarters that belonged to her and Zuko. There were furs to tan and candles to tallow, food to preserve and cloth to weave. There was also the duties of her own that she had to tend to – as the physical element of the Moon Spirit, she spent much of her time in the Spirit Oasis and served the Northern Tribe as a priestess. She enjoyed the quiet company of the ice floes, the simple fire that lay banked in skin of her husband, the prayers she offered the spirits of the Moon and her star helpers and the songs she sang to the Ocean God to keep her people safe and well fed.

She was unprepared for the depth of her wrath. She had not known where he was going, not unusual for he was practising the hunting of the seal-leopards and the great whales and their trails were often unexpected and misleading. It was not until mid-morning when a warrior approached her and wished Zuko luck on his ice dodging ventures that she understood why so many elders were missing. They took him ice dodging.

He returned that evening, with chapped cheeks and a mildly soppy grin. She glared at him.

"Explain yourelf." She demanded. Zuko looked flustered.

"Ice dodging is a tradition among your Tribesmen," he said slowly. "We discussed it."

"We discussed what it was, not that you should go do it!" she retorted. "By that extension you should be more diligent with your firebending – that is a tradition of your people." He frowned.

"I do enough to get by." She glared. "I came here to be one of your people. They will not respect me if I do not show them I mean what I say!"

"My people are not bigots Zuko. You do not need to attempt such risks!"

"I am not in the Fire Nation."

"No, you are not."

"Which is why I have to do these things because I do not understand!" he bellowed, candles rising into bonfires. "I am trying to belong! I cannot protect you if I do not know what I'm doing!"

_Ah, so this is the core of his torment, _she thought to herself. _Fear of inadequacy._

Motioning that he join her on the mats, she held his hand in hers.

"You are Fire Nation. You can never truly leave that foundation Zuko," she said softly, her wrath gone, melted like the summer snows. "You can only be the man you choose to be, the firebending Tribesman of the North. There is no shame in that if you let us help you. There is no need to hide. Besides, you are a willing student of the Chief, a diligent husband to me and you will be a gentle father to our child. Our people love you. I love you."

_10. why azula should not be left to tend to the children_

Quieting the children with a mild blast of azure flames, Azula once more struggled for their attention. These girl children had the attention span of the bee-beetles in the plains of the Western Islands. The lemur, Momo, as the offspring of the Temple affectionately named it, cowered in the middle of the throng. He was the product of discord amoung the community of nuns at the Temple. Something that she relished with a slight amount of glee and pride. The children were not supposed to form attachments to anything but they felt it unfair to let the lemur who had adopted himself into her care go without a name. Her spark of rebellion and cunning had infected the children and had spread throughout the temple like a wild fire, causing havoc everywhere.

Like right now.

"Unless you wish to witness my katas please silence yourselves and return to your previous spots on the floor," she ordered shortly, picking up one girl by her arm. "I will end this lesson shortly if you have so much energy. Perhaps you could all help in the kitchen?"

A silent, en masse of children scurrying to their seats caused Momo to scamper up Azula's leg and to curl around her left shoulder. The taupe and crimson robes swayed loose around her legs and were coiled securely around her right shoulder. In blantant disregard to the scholar doctrine of the temple's doctrine, she wore her mother's bracelets and kept her hairline in the appropriate braid and disregarded the shaved hairline. Being so blatantly different made it easy to enthrall children on her side, a comforting and useful tool (she had not lost her touch now that she was married to this peace-keeping vegetarian).

"Now would you please explain why Fire Lord Rojiin's tactic's during the Seven Season Seige were –" she looked at them all with a grimace. "Unethical by the views of the outlying Nations."

Immediately all the hands shot up into the air. Enthusiasm was bred into the rugrats as well as divine tolerance for all things.

"I am afraid that your lesson will have to be cancelled for the day," the ancient nun interrupted smoothly. "A message has arrived saying that Sister Azula's presence is needed at the North Pole."

"Why would she have to go there?" a small girl asked.

"Because her brother, Lord Zuko, has called for her and as a dutiful Sister she must answer," the old woman replied. "It has also been one year. Her time with us has rotated in one full circle and now she must leave our Temple." The children turned to look at her in dismay. Azula narrowed her eyes.

"I refuse to allow a single one of you to raise a fuss. You were all well aware that this day would come," she snapped. "No crying." Turning to the Abbess she held out the lemur.

"No," the woman spoke with a smile that showed her fleshy pink gums. "He is yours to take with you. Brother Aang is fond of animals and would enjoy his company."

"Witch." Azula muttered under her breath. The old woman's smile only widened.

_11. here, a date is planned_

She was sitting outside in the sunshine. Lu Ten wandered through the soft green carpet of grass, something so prevalent in the Earth Kingdom that it made his heart ache, to kneel by her side. The Bei Fong'_s _had twisted her hair up into some elaborate style with perfumes and glittering pins that looked quite painful. He imagined that living here with them would be just as painful, being treated as a tratior for simply being yourself, a bender and a woman of self assurance. Father and Mai assured him that while he was unable to protect her (it would be quite unproper for him to take her back to the Fire Nation with him according to Earth Kingdom traditions), that she was quite safe.

"Hello darling," he murmured. "How are you?" Not a flicker crossed her face, her attentions completely diverted to the strange shapes that she was commanding out of the metal.

"I continue survive with these crazies." She replied, the drape of her dress hiked up to her knees to let her toes dig into the grass. Unspoken were her words - _hurry up and marry me, I'm losing my mind.__  
_

"I see you managed to master my challenge." He remarked with approval as he sat down beside her. Mai had wandered away but had, he knew, her eyes on them.

"I did, didn't I?" she commented with a wide grin that threatened to decapitate her face in half. "I am the greatest earthbender alive, don't you agree Lu Ten? I won another Earth Rumble Tournament last night, you'll have to come for the next one, it's in three days. The Boulder has challenged me – it'll be fun to thrash him again."

"Yes dear."

_12. where we learn how to avoid the stewed sea prunes without insulting your host_

"Brother, this is Aang." Azula introduced coolly. "Aang, this is my brother Zuko, the soon-to-be Chief of the Northern Tribes." Aang swept some more snow off of Appa's nose and gave Zuko a friendly nod and tried to ignore how uncomfortable his brother-in-law looked when his promised mentioned his status. The older man looked warm in his navy wool and comfortable amoungst the ice and it's inhabitants. A good combination, humble about his station and devoted to the people whose safety he was charged with. Unlike his wife who had a temper as sharp as her tongue and an attitude as hot as her bending. He noted the wisdom of his elders to arrange the two of them. He needed more backbone and she needed peace.

Now if only she would look at him.

"Thanks for coming_,_" Zuko replied. "I was beginning to think that you would not come at all." She huffed and blew steam through her nostrils.

"We took a couple of detours," Aang supplied. "Your message didn't seem urgent and I wanted to take the opportunity to show Azula some interesting sights on the way."

"Where did you go?" Zuko asked, as he reached for their small bundle of belongings. The Nomads believed in detachment and Azula had little need for mementos and senseless trappings. Aang shrugged.

"He wanted to ride on the giant koi fish." Azula explained dryly.

"But I did show you a sea monster." The Nomad countered.

"Yue will be glad to hear of your adventures. She has several questions for you, Azula, about children and firebending, and she has a gift for you of some sort. I have been forbidden to see it." Zuko said, nodding towards the intricate main ice structure in the middle of the city.

"Shall I go now?" she asked.

"Take Katara with you, the girl over there with the strange hair loops. She'll take you to the Oasis," Nodding, Azula strode off, to the guide in question. "Once we get your bison looked after Aang, we're going to have to investigate food for you. I've heard that the Nomads refuse to eat meat."

"We believe that all life is sacred." He responded, petting Momo's head. The lemur had buried himself in Aang's clothing when the sun rose but slept with Azula when the sun set.

"I tried to get some substitutes prepared but we should go check. I would be a poor host if all you had to sustain yourself with was stewed sea prunes." The Fire Prince explained with a grimace. "But don't tell anybody here that."

_13. and roles are reassessed_

"_I swear by Agni that if you do that again I will personally rip your intestines out of your throat." _Azula growled at the healer. Yue had clutched her stomach in agony and stifled a cry of unnecessary pain. The journeyman healer, who had been acting as a maid for Yue during her last few months of pregnancy scuttled away in fear and to summon a more advanced healer. "This is all your fault." She grumbled at the white koi fish.

"I was unaware that glaciers could thaw," the tribeswoman whispered in a half strangled laugh. "You continue to surprise me." Azula grave another growl as she shed her outer robes and wrapped her belt, the gift that her brother had warned her about around her waist.

"Yes well, Zuzu was always sentimental and I can't stand seeing him cry," she muttered as she helped the other woman out of her robes until she was bare skin on the grass of the Oasis. "_Agni_, you're warmer then I am." Azula commented as she rested the back of her hand on her forehead.

"Is the baby alright?" she breathed. Azula moved her hands to the taut stomach and loosened the small knife and soft belt away. Laying her head against the warm skin she counted the sounds that did not belong to the labouring mother, her own breath or the eternally swimming koi.

"It sounds alive."

"Good" The moon woman sagged down onto her elbows. Azula shoved all the robes behind her as a support and starting taking the pins out of her elaborate up-do. "I have been so worried for him."

"How do you know it is a him?" Azula asked, desperate to keep her focused and draw her attention away from the pain.

"I know things," she said with an eerie half-smile. "I talk to the moon."

"How on earth did you have that much water inside of you when there's a baby in there?" Azula asked as she looked at the slick ground and eagerly backed off a bit as she saw the strange Nothern woman who had tried to and failed to fix her mother. Yue laughed. Not liking the situation at all she hovered and hissed at the healer and offered her hand to her sister and waited.

"Azula_,_ please grab the belt and knife please," Yugoda spoke at last, eyes fixated on the lower half of the Northern Princess. "Give the belt to Yue to bite down upon." Spotting the strange blue band, similar to her own red and gold one, she threaded it through Yue's mouth and grimly held onto the knife. It seemed like an eternity before the child was finally ready to arrive when the old woman looked up at Azula and motioned for her to come close.

"You are, by the wishes of the Chief's daughter, to assess the child for any ailments known to your people." She instructed. Azula blinked before steadying herself. The Academy and the holy women of the Temple's infirmary had instructed her on some imperative skills that _they _deemed unnecessary. Trying to tie down her fear – for she is the monster princess, she fears nothing after all, this was just another tactical test, she waited for the infant to crown. Much to her surprise, the infant crowned quickly and Yugoda barely had the time to deftly move the shoulders free before Azula intervened and held the slippery, squalling thing in her hands. Resting the child on Yue_'_s flattening abdomen she ran her fingers over the child while the older woman removed the fluids from the child's breathing passages.

"He's breathing," she informed the weary and fearful moon-priestess. "Ten fingers and toes, dark hair. He received Zuzu's ears - but your nose so I suppose he'll look rather attractive when he's older if his hair covers his ears... I see a sliver of blue in his eyes," she studied the child closely, looking for the tell-tale signs of trouble. "I doubt he's going to be a Fire-bender – there's nothing to speak of in his chi, so that should please the Tribe." Gently warming up her fingers she cleaned the child up before severing the umbilical cord and depositing the child in his mother's arms. Yugoda busied herself with Yue_'s _lower half once more, Azula looked up at the glowing face of her sister.

"How shall I announce him?" she asked.

"Urzoh." Yue murmured, eyes focused brightly on her son.

* * *

"You were beyond foolish," She hissed at him as she tried to drag him into the stables. The trapped heat of the animals and her own fire should, in theory, keep him from losing his toes. Feebly, he tried to assist her. "Far too much to drink and it is way too cold for anyone who is not a Firebender or a Tribesman!"

"Why, Azula, I didn't know you cared so much." He replied, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"I am your promised, your wife, you imbecile and this is in no way amusing. I am supposed to take care of you," She replied hotly as she lay him down beside Appa, and stripped down to her skin and covered them both with the coarse blankets. "I am already a monster, but I cannot save my honoured nephew and then let you die."

"I think I shouldn't drink again." Aang groaned and clutched at his head. So much for "experiencing the world's traditions" - Gyatso was probably laughing at him right now, the evil old man.

"One of your more brilliant ideas." She snapped at him as she wrapped herself around him and forced him up against Appa's side and ignoring the flush that rose against his pale skin.

"_Azula_, what are you doing?"

"Saving you from this Agni-forsaken frozen waste-land. You nearly froze to death in the snow. Zuzu is going to have to change this celebration tradition – I marvel that the population of men in this Tribe does not become decimated at each birth and wedding by becoming stone-drunk in the snow for five days." She muttered angrily, knowing know why her brother had been so unhappy back home. He was a part of a family here. Every single Tribesperson that she encountered was please to meet her, happy that she had become an aunt.

"I think we are a good match," Aang said quietly. "I lack discpline and you are... unhappy."

"It was not allowed," she whispered. A lazy, somewhat hesitant finger trailed up her hip and fingered the belt with the small iron knife that Yue had given her.

"It is a gift. The Tribeswomen use the cord to bind their burdens to them when they are traveling, or to make a secure sling for the infants." She explained.

"And the knife?" he asked.

"A knife has a number of useful purposes. Yue said it was a tradition to give them to the girls who come of age." Azula shifted a little, her hip brushing against his suddenly spry erection. His trailing finger was beginning to move up her rib cage.

"You don't have to be the monster princess that they have expected you to be, you know."

"Aang," she glared at him. "I am not a kind person." His grey eyes smiled at her.

"I am willing to teach you Azula. You can depend on me."

_14. here we meet our avatar_

Sokka was contemplating suicide. It would be dramatic. He was considering drowning in a bowl of egg custard, or perhaps beaning himself on the head with his favoured boomerang. Briefly, he had considered sneaking back home and forgetting all this ridiculous "magic bending" nonsense. It would all have to be done secretly of course, because Katara would kill him and then tell Sifu Azula - and that would be an encounter he _really_ did not want to imagine.

Sighing, he struggled to his feet to see Sifu Azula and Sifu Aang stroll towards him with another couple dressed in Fire Nation colours. Trailing behind them was a tall thin woman with black hair and too much eyeliner. He groaned at the look on the crazy woman and got up reluctantly. The Avatar was supposed to be practising an air scooter – which was way more difficult than what the tatooed Brother made it look like. The flick of the hands and shifting of the centre of gravity was complicated enough to just observe before even trying to summon the wispy, intangible element of air.

"Practice," he muttered to himself, dragging his hands down through his ruffled wolf's tail. "Practice is going to kill me. The universe is trying to kill me."

"Avatar," Sifu Aang began, "We wanted to introduce you to your earthbending Sifu. This is Toph Bei Fong_._" Stepping aside, the Nomad revealed the Chief-to-be of the Fire Nation and a petite girl dressed in sleeveless bending robe in greens and yellow with a red sunflower in her hair. Her eyes were sightless but she walked across the grounds in an eerie sort of confidence. Her fiance stood of to the side with a small smirk, and her body guard strolled a few feet behind her with a small twitch to her lips.

_Thank you the Universe, this will be so much easier then I thought._

"So you're the Avatar, huh?" she said as she flicked her metal bracelets further up her arms, moving into a solid horse stance and Sokka felt his stomach drop. So much for appearances. "Lets see how terrible you are at earthbending. Has the Brother here taught you about chakras?"

"Er, yes?"

"Where is the chakra for Earth-bending located?"

"The base of the spine? Um, and it's the courage chakra- gets gunked up by fear."

"Exactly. You, Avatar_, _ are going to try to stop this boulder by drawing the strength of the ground up through your legs and into your earth chakra." Stomping one leg on the ground a rather large sized hunk of earth hovered at was aimed accurately at his face. Diving out-of-the-way, he rolled into a limp pile on the ground and watched in despair as she turned to her husband and yelled about how her talents as the 'greatest Earthbender ever' were being wasted with an asinine student. The heir of the Fire Lord stood calmly and merely raised a brow.

"I do the exact same thing when you do that to me, how come you've never yelled at me?"

"Back up on your feet!" the blind bender suddenly turned barked, flushing. "We've got work to do – you will, by the end of the day be able to plant your feet at whatever comes flying at your face. There are worse things that rocks flying at you, y'know. I won't stand to have a coward for a pupil."

"Worse things?" he repeated with wide eyes.

"Besides, after you are done with my dear sister-in-law-to-be we will be entering the eighth Dragon forms." Sifu Azula informed him coolly. "That is, unless you had something for him dear?"

Aang took one look at the despairing Avatar and laughed.

_fin._


End file.
